Weber Announces the Signing of NJCAA All-American David Sloan

Head coach Bruce Weber announced the signing of junior college All-American guard and two-time NJCAA national assist leader David Sloan (Louisville, Ky./John A. Logan (Ill.) College) to a Financial Aid Agreement on Tuesday (May 7).

A 6-foot, 200-pound point guard, Sloan joins the Wildcats after a two-year stint at John A. Logan College in Cartersville, Illinois, where he led the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) in assists the past two seasons (2017-19) for the high-scoring Volunteers, which averaged 93.5 points on a 50.5 field goal percentage and 39.6 3-point field goal percentage during that span. The Vols ranked among the NJCAA’s Top 20 in scoring average, field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Sloan, who led the community college ranks in assists in both 2017-18 (304/9.5 apg.) and 2018-19 (326/10.2 apg.), was named a NJCAA honorable mention All-American and the Great Rivers Athletic Conference Player of the Year after leading John A. Logan to a 27-5 overall record and a No. 5 ranking in the final regular season NJCAA Top 25 poll this past season. The Vols posted a 53-11 overall record during Sloan’s two-year playing career, which included a pair of conference titles. He also rates among the top junior college players in the country by several recruiting services, including No. 26 by JucoRecruiting.com and No. 35 by 247Sports.

“David is a great addition and we are excited to welcome him and his family to our program,” said Weber. “He gives us an experienced guard who knows how to play and lead his team. He is a high-level passer who can also score. He also comes from a successful and quality community college program led by (head coach) Kyle Smithpeters. We feel that he is a really good fit for us and we are looking forward to getting him to campus.”

Coached by Kyle Smithpeters at John A. Logan College, Sloan led the community college ranks in both total assists and assists per game in each of the past two seasons, including 326 total assists and a 10.2 assists per game average as a sophomore in 2018-19. He scored or assisted on 44 percent of the Vols’ total field goals made (2,176) in his career, including averaging a double-double (16.1 ppg., 10.2 apg.) this past season. For his career, he averaged a near double-double with 14.1 points on 49.2 percent (326-of-662) shooting, including 37.9 percent (75-of-198) from 3-point range, with 9.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.

Sloan collected double-doubles (points/assists) in 24 of his 64 games played at John A. Logan College, which included 16 in 2018-19. He also posted three career triple-doubles (points/rebounds/assists), which included consecutive triple-doubles against Southwestern Illinois (19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) and Lake Land (10 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists) on January 9 and 13 of this year. He dished out double-digit assists in 39 career games, including six games of 15 or more assists and a career and season-high 19 assists in a 137-76 win over Western Kentucky Tech on January 4, 2019.

Although known for his playmaking ability, Sloan was also an effective scorer for John A. Logan in his career, registering double figures in 45 of 64 games played, which included a pair of 30-point performances as a sophomore in 2018-19. He scored a career-high 33 points in a win over Three Rivers Community College on December 4, 2018 before totaling 31 in a victory over Olney Central on January 23, 2019.

Sloan averaged a double-double as a sophomore in 2018-19, leading the school to a 27-5 overall record, including a 16-2 mark in Great Rivers Athletic Conference play, before losing to conference rival Wabash Valley, 86-84, in the District 16 semifinals. A starter in all 32 games, he averaged 16.1 points on 50 percent (179-of-358) shooting, including 37.1 percent (39-of-105) from 3-point range, with 10.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He posted double-figure points in 26 of the 32 games, including two 30-point games and five more 20-point games, along with 19 double-digit assist games and two triple-doubles.

Sloan led the Vols to a 26-6 overall record, including a 15-3 mark in conference, as a freshman in 2017-18. He started 31 of 32 games played, averaging 12.0 points on 48.4 percent (147-of-304) shooting, including 38.7 percent (36-of-93) from 3-point range, with 9.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

A native of Louisville, Sloan spent three years (2013-16) at Taylor County High School in Campbellsville, Kentucky before following his coach, Rick Gatewood, to 22 Feet Academy in Anderson, South Carolina for his senior season in 2016-17. He led the Taylor County Cardinals to an 80-20 (.800) overall record and consecutive Sweet 16 appearances (2015, 2016) in the state tournament, averaging 20 points on 47.9 percent shooting, including 42.9 percent from 3-point range, as a junior in 2015-16.

Sloan is the fourth member of the 2018-19 signing class, joining high school standouts Antonio Gordon (Lawton, Okla./Eisenhower), DaJuan Gordon (Chicago, Ill./Curie Metropolitan) and Montavious Murphy (Houston, Texas/Concordia Lutheran) who signed with the Wildcats during the Fall Signing Period in November. The school still has one scholarship opening for the 2019-20 season.